Music Room & Library

The pocket doors separating these two rooms were usually closed and the family did most of its living in the Music Room. In the winter, virtually all activities save for sleeping were conducted in this room in order to save on heating costs (the house's fireplaces are built to accommodate the burning of coal). Only when there was a dinner or a dance were the doors opened to make the best use of the space.

The mantels in the house are all different, and were chosen by Mary Anna from a pattern book instead of being made locally. It is interesting to note how the grandeur of the mantels is in proportion to the formality of the rooms, so that as we go to the upstairs bedrooms they become much simpler. While the fireplaces were used to heat the rooms in the house in cooler months, the transoms above the doors were used to cool the house. The front and back doors could be opened alongwith these transoms to aid with cross ventilation.